Office 2008 Coming January 2008 — We announced today that Office 2008 for Mac will be released to manufacturing ("RTM") this December, which will allow for retail availability in the US in mid-January (planning for Macworld), and allow us to deliver Office 2008 to our volume license customers …

Wall Street Journal: Google Phone In Development — The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Google is making a push to court wireless carriers in an effort to accelerate mobile ad distribution and revenue growth. The article also contends that Google is actively working a mobile handset …

Sony offers repair on 416,000 Cyber-shot cameras — Sony announced plans today to offer repairs on the casings of 416,000 Cyber-shot DSC-T5 digital cameras the company has sold, as the bottom plating can warp and create a sharp edge which can cut or scratch user's hands.

John Dvorak isn't just cranky, he's cranky and wrong — John C. Dvorak, Cranky Geek and long respected old dude, has penned a shallow but multi-part whine about the web 2.0 economy and the likelihood that it's going to collapse at any moment. It's titled Bubble 2.0 Coming Soon and it's crap.

Because I'm a sucker — My oh my, turn on the blogosphere this morning and what do I find? A serious brouhaha brewing and boiling because Dvorak went and wrote the tiresome, "Bubble 2.0″ ("we're in one and it'll end badly"). Go read all of the techmeme links if you want the full skinny …

Microsoft tries free office suite — Free copies of some of Microsoft's office software will soon be available. — The software giant said it would make ad-supported copies of the Works package available within "months". — The programs will not run in a web browser but will be installed …

HandHeld To Acquire eBaum's World For $17 Million — Another deal from HandHeld Entertainment, which continues to roll up traffic and content. This time the company is picking up user-gen site eBaum'sWorld for $15 million in cash at closing and a possible total of $52.5 million in cash and stock over three years.

Third generation HD DVD players on October 1st? — There's no doubt that the HD Format war is in full swing, and just when the Blu-ray camp thinks they're going to catch up with HD DVD's full featured players, HD DVD raises the bar. We'll probably have to wait 'till CEDIA to get the official word …

MySpace Nabs Lonelygirl15 Finale — In a deal that signals the ascendance of the independent video creator, MySpace will host and feature the Lonelygirl15 season finale this Friday. The finale, a culmination of the series to date, with 12 episodes released every hour over starting at 8 a.m. Pacific …

Why we must close the net — Web rant ... Sir Elton says the internet is destroying music — POP legend Sir Elton John wants the internet CLOSED DOWN. — Never one to keep his opinions to himself, the Rocket Man has waded into cyberspace with all guns blazing.